I hesitated to put up this post because I thought it was common knowledge, and many of you will probably scratch your heads and say, “That is so 2008.” However, I went to a conference recently and more than half the people in the room didn’t know about HARO a.k.a. “Help A Reporter Out”–a fabulous free resource for media outlets and for those looking to be covered by the media.
Peter Shankman runs HARO (he can be followed as well on twitter: @skydiver) and sends out up to three e-mails a day with all of the latest inquiries. Another note for Twitter users: You can ask questions directly using #HARO.
TodaysMama.com has gotten coverage from some of these inquiries, and we also are starting to use the service to source content. It’s easy–just subscribe to Shankman’s newsletter and watch for queries that fit your business.
Be aware that there are loads of people who respond to the queries. I think the key to getting noticed is being genuine and to the point. If you’re not a PR pro, don’t pretend to be one. Be real.
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 2:03 pm and is filed under PR Basics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.3 Responses to “Help a Reporter Out”
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February 19th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I have had success with a feature on The Mogul Mom Blog and a mention on Root and Sprout. Plus, I connected with a magazine launch and included a free subscription to The Dinner Spin in their launch “swag bags”. Not only that, I have found out about some pretty great resources through the ads in each email, plus I usually find Peter’s side notes amusing:) HARO is a tremendous resource!!
February 19th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I used it for the first time today. Sent a query this morning, got at least a dozen responses (so far), and I’ll call one for a more extensive interview later.
It’s amazing. Great resource! I will definitely use it again.
February 20th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Peter is one smart dude. The quality of the queries seems to be higher than other paid services that do the same thing. I’m also amazed that Peter is able to write such entertaining lead-ins each day. While the emails are now ad-sponsored, Peter throws his own unique spin on ads by making it more of an endorsement. I look forward to his emails each day.